88

54

85.6

87.3

85.5

.610

.591

98.3%

1.7%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Square these two thoughts: Rookies are supposed to wear down under the duress of the long major-league season. Bryce Harper is hitting .375/.468/.725 in September.

2

86

57

80.7

78.7

76.2

.562

.543

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Current starting shortstop Wilson Valdez has three extra base hits in 166 plate appearances this season.

3

84

57

82.2

86.2

85.2

.599

.618

88.4%

11.5%

99.9%

0.2%

0.8%

If there is anyone on the Rangers deserving of MVP consideration it is not Josh Hamilton, but Adrian Beltre. And yes, I said "consideration," nothing more.

4

81

62

80.5

79.6

79.5

.560

.541

1.7%

97.4%

99.1%

-0.5%

8.0%

Just five hits and one walk for one of the National League's best offenses won't get it done most nights, and, what do you know, it didn't last night either.

5

81

60

79.9

76.8

77.6

.559

.579

10.6%

76.0%

86.6%

10.3%

27.4%

Jerry Blevins' save Tuesday -- entering a one-run game with runners at the corners, none out, cleanup hitter up -- is the fourth-highest leverage for a three-out save this year. But considering it was against the Angels, in September, let's call it the highest.

6

80

62

75.7

74.2

73.1

.534

.514

97.0%

1.8%

98.8%

1.3%

4.7%

Madison Bumgarner hit a three-run homer. That pretty much sums up the Giants as a team right there; pitchers who go above and beyond and offense from unexpected places.

7

79

62

68.2

66.2

67.9

.499

.519

17.3%

24.7%

42.0%

13.6%

-0.5%

There are 22 games left on the Orioles schedule. Considering their entire season to date, who wants to bet against them going 20-2 the rest of the way? Joe Saunders can not be stopped!

8

79

62

80.0

80.2

81.2

.568

.588

67.5%

18.1%

85.6%

-1.6%

-2.1%

After the Yankees went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, manager Joe Girardi threw his famous binder down the hallway and yelled, "Next time just get a hit!"

9

77

64

79.5

80.2

81.7

.565

.584

15.2%

29.2%

44.4%

-15.3%

-19.4%

Every once in a while the Rays' decision to not field an offense comes back to bite them.

10

77

65

77.7

80.1

81.7

.557

.577

1.0%

37.6%

38.6%

-8.2%

2.0%

The Angels' new mascot, Trouty the Trouty Trout just won the most valuable mascot competition despite being created right now.

11

76

65

77.0

73.5

72.7

.530

.550

63.4%

1.3%

64.7%

-9.3%

3.3%

The White Sox started Dayan Viciedo at DH and he struck out three times in four at-bats. Clearly he was feeling pressure to perform. Said Viciedo, "I tried to strike out that fourth time, for Adam, but I couldn't. I just couldn't!"

12

75

67

79.8

80.2

77.9

.551

.531

0.0%

72.1%

72.1%

-3.2%

-10.8%

If the Cardinals went 1-for-14 with men in scoring position, how did they score four? A grounder into a force out, an error, a "soft" groundball, and a solo homer.

13

74

67

73.9

76.4

76.7

.534

.554

36.6%

1.6%

38.2%

10.3%

-11.5%

Austin Jackson's BABIP still "unsustainably high?" [checks] Yup. [goes about life as if nothing has happened]

14

74

68

73.0

72.0

71.7

.512

.492

2.9%

16.5%

19.4%

0.8%

0.6%

Nick Punto with the Red Sox: .200/.301/.272. Nick Punto with the Dodgers: .154/.313/.154. Why did they want Nick Punto again?

15

72

69

70.5

70.5

68.4

.499

.479

0.0%

5.3%

5.3%

-1.4%

-6.7%

Since the trading deadline the Pirates are 13-24 and have lost 10 games in the standings.

16

71

71

70.1

72.8

72.9

.505

.485

0.0%

1.0%

1.0%

0.3%

1.0%

The Phillies may be at .500 again, but to grab a Wild Card spot they'll have to pass either the Cardinals or the Braves which [looks at standings] really? Only four games? Wow.

17

71

71

74.4

74.1

71.3

.512

.492

0.0%

1.8%

1.8%

1.2%

1.3%

At 71-71 maybe it was too early to write off the Brewers. They're four games out with two teams to jump over.

18

70

72

73.8

73.7

73.5

.512

.492

0.1%

2.4%

2.5%

1.5%

1.9%

But, if the Diamondbacks trade Justin Upton who will go 0-for-3 from the fifth spot in the order?

19

68

74

68.7

65.5

67.0

.474

.494

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

In 137 major league games, Jesus Montero has never successfully stolen a base. He's been caught twice though.

20

68

75

67.3

67.7

66.8

.472

.452

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Edinson Volquez walked six in six innings and got the win. This continued the trend of A) Volquez walking too many hitters, and B) Volquez getting the win more often than you'd think.

21

65

77

66.0

69.4

71.3

.478

.458

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

If the Mets beat Washington tonight by the score of 46-1 they'll still have a negative run differential.

22

64

76

65.7

62.2

64.0

.457

.477

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Brandon Morrow has replaced his old 'giving up too many walks' problem with a 'giving up too many hits' problem. Let's see if anyone notices!

23

64

77

65.7

62.6

62.4

.452

.471

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

It will likely come as no surprise but the Royals have taken the fewest walks of any team in baseball. They're 20 behind the 29th place Cubs and 148 behind first-place Atlanta.

I don't know how unexpected the Bumgarner home run was. It was Coors field after all and Bumgarner is an excellent athlete with a beautiful swing. Given the PAs, he could probably hit well enough to be an everyday player.

Just a technical question: How did the A's get nearly a 3-point bump in their likelihood of winning the division despite staying even with Texas. I'd think as we get closer to the end, staying even would drop their percentage.